INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TERM PROJECT

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TERM PROJECT
Form a group of 4 people. Each member will be evaluating their team member(s) based on
attendance, participation, reliability, communication, quality of work, organization, etc.
The purpose of this project is to:
1) Identify and analyze a home country where an industry is thriving
2) Identify and analyze that specific industry as it relates to your project
3) Identify and analyze a company in the home country
4) Identify and analyze potential host countries where the product can be sold.
5) Develop a plan to export the product to one of the host countries
Project Overview (1-2 pages for home country, host countries and industry)
Determine and discuss your justification for:
● home country
● potential host countries
● industry
Detailed timeline for the project (can be included in team charter) (2 pages)
Roles and responsibilities (can be included in team charter) (1-2 pages)
Team Charter (2-4 pages)
Content of Paper (I-IV)
For the following sections it is important that you format your work using headings and
subheadings.
You are expected to thoroughly research each topic below and provide multiple sources for
each topic. As an example, when discussing Labor your group should cite at least 3-4
sources in this paragraph. Each sentence should be written in your own words and no
direct quotes should be used. Your work is expected to be submitted in full sentences with
each sentence being cited using MLA or APA. When using MLA or APA you are expected to
be consistent with one of these through the entire project.
If there is a graph/chart/table/diagram/image that you would like to include, then please
put this in the Appendix for your project and do not include this in the body of your paper.
Hint: you may find adding an Appendix (properly labelled) will help improve the discussion
in each section, when properly referenced.
Each section will have a work cited section. Keep in mind that when submitting the final
draft all of your citations from each section must be organized as one section. In addition,
you may find that writing an introduction and conclusion in each section will improve the
flow of the final draft. Your group will be allowed to resubmit sections of your paper (max of 3 times per section)
Each member of the group is expected to contribute equally to each section.
I. Select and research a home country (3-4 pages)
Here are some is topics to consider, but you are not be limited to these topics:
1. Resources Available
a. Labor
b. Capital
c. Natural resources
d. Technology
e. Geography
2. Players in the country
a. Firms (Multinational & Domestic)
b. Non state organizations (Unions, employer association, religious groups,
political parties, non profit organization, etc.,)
3. Rules of the game
a. Formal Rules
i. Economic (property rights, contract law, etc.,)
ii. Political (Federal system, separation of powers)
iii. International Treaties on trade and investment
b. Informal Rules
i. Conventions
ii. Culture
iii. Religious beliefs iv. Ideology
4. Performance Indicators
a. Economic- GNP or GDP, Wages, Interest rates, Inflation, Unemployment,
Balance of payments, Exchanges rates, Tariffs, Quotas etc.,
b. Social- Income distribution, Literacy, Aging
c. Political- Political stability, political freedom, Regulation on foreign firms, etc.,
II. Select and research a real company and product in the home country
(exporter) (2-3 pages)
You will need to identify an industry sector/product category from the outset. It is better if
you choose a manufactured product to be exported to another country. Examples are:
cellular phones, printing equipment, forklift trucks, power generators, cameras, tiles for
construction, medical devices, and so on. For the purpose of this assignment, focus on
exporting as an entry mode rather than direct investment, joint ventures, licensing,
franchising, or global sourcing. This must be a real (not hypothetical) company and real
product and you will be giving specific information or making assumptions if the
information is not available.
1. Company
a. History
b. Size
c. Location of HQ and location of other offices and subsidiaries.
d. Provide lists of countries where this company is located and sells product
(appendix)
e. Management Governance.
f. SWOT
2. Product
a. Product Description (contents, where and how it is made)
b. Price (cost, unit pricing)
c. Distribution (supply chain of obtaining material)
d. Promotion
III. Select and research 3-4 potential host countries and identify companies
(importer). (4-6 pages)
-Country information: market size, growth rate, intensity, consumption capacity, receptivity.
Commercial infrastructure, government, language and culture, etc.
-Country clustering, country ranking, country monitoring, trade fair participation.
-What criteria should you use to identify 3 or 4 most promising countries (most attractive
at the country level)?
-Considering the particular company/product you have chosen, which features of a foreign
market should you examine most closely?
-Based on your analysis (please detail), what are 3 or 4 most promising foreign markets
that warrant in-depth examination for your company?
-Sources of information:
Internet Resources ● www.export.gov (Market Research, Country Commercial Guides, and other pages)
● www.doingbusiness.org ● www.globaledge.msu.edu
● Export Source Canada web portal: http://www.canadabusiness.ca
GlobalEDGE
● Market Potential Indicators for Emerging Markets
● Country Memos
● Country Insights
● Online Course Modules
● Global Competitiveness Rankings by the World Bank, World Economic Forum, and
IMD. ● Euromoney Corporate Location
● Index of Economic Freedom Rankings (Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal)
● Corruption Index (Transparency International)
● Country Risk Analysis
Sample Readings
• “Measuring the Potential of Emerging Markets: An Indexing Approach,” Business
Horizons, 1997
• “Complementary Approaches to Preliminary Foreign Market Opportunity
Assessment: Country Clustering and Country Ranking,” Industrial Marketing
Management. • Doing Business in XXX” articles in the literature
Internet Resources • www.export.gov (Market Research and other pages; Best Market reports, Market
Research, )
• Globaledge: Industry Memos;
• TableBase data source
• Competitive Intelligence reports
• Publications of management consulting firms
IV. Research the industry market potential assessment (3-4 pages)
● What industry-specific indicators of demand should you use given the particular
company/product you have chosen?
● How would you characterize the intensity of competition for this product/industry
category in each of the countries?
● How substantial are the barriers to enter each country for the product/industry
category?
● What is your best estimate of the aggregate size of the market for this product/industry
category- at present, and 3 years from now- within each of the selected countries?
● Based on above analysis, which country appears to be most promising as an export
market?
● Industry growth potential
● Current and future size of the market
● Industry structure, quality, and stature of established competitors
● Ability to transfer core competencies
● Market turbulences
● Local financing potential
V. Make a recommendation (1-2 pages)
Select one host country to export your product and present detailed information about a
particular importer/company that will utilize your product. There is no need to discuss the
other host countries, but you must be thorough in your recommendation. Why is this the
better choice for the home country?
VI. Plan of export strategy and timeline to implement (1-2 pages)
How will you implement your plan?
Provide a timeline (in the Appendix, but refer to it in the body of this section) of places to
visit and people to meet to implement this project.
Who you will meet (title and organization), where they are located, what you need to
discuss?
People’s roles to implement this plan (i.e. Who from the organization and other
organizations need to be doing what to implement this plan?)
Presentation of Project
Delivery and content of the final presentation will be discussed in class.
Deadlines
Each portion of the project will have a deadline (see below).
Your paper represents 30% of your final grade.
Project Deadlines
Section Deadline Percent
Project Overview, Timeline, Roles,
Team Charter
9/7 5%
I 9/9 10%
II 9/14 10%
III 9/21 15%
IV 9/28 15%
V 10/3 15%
VI 10/3 15%
Final Paper (I-VI and all Appendices) 10/12 15%
Presentation of Project 10/7-10/10 –
100%